| 1. Why is the Sugarloaf Pipeline necessary? |
Record low inflows to water storages and a growing urban population mean new sources of water need to be found for Melbourne. The ability to redistribute water throughout the state as required is also very important.
Other major water infrastructure projects such as the desalination plant won't be completed until the end of 2011. Completed five months early, the Sugarloaf Pipeline started delivering additional water to Melbourne in February 2010.
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| 2. Where will the water come from? |
Water to be transferred by the Sugarloaf Pipeline will be saved through the modernisation of irrigation infrastructure in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District.
This program, known as the Food Bowl Modernisation Project, will aim to save up to 425 billion litres (425 gigalitres) of water each year. This water is currently lost due to system inefficiencies, such as open channels and inaccurate metering, in the Goulburn-Murray Irrigation District.
The Northern Victoria Irrigation Renewal Project (NVIRP) has been established to oversee the irrigation upgrades.
The first stage of the project will secure up to 225 GL of saved water annually. This water will be shared between irrigators, the environment and urban users.
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| 3. How much water will the Sugarloaf Pipeline transfer? |
The Sugarloaf Pipeline will transfer up to 75 billion litres (75 gigalitres) of water savings to Melbourne each year, or one-third of the savings from Stage One of the Food Bowl Modernisation Project.
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| 4. How much did the Sugarloaf Pipeline cost? |
The entire Sugarloaf Pipeline project cost $750 million, consisting of $625 million to design and build the Sugarloaf Pipeline and a further $125 million was used to upgrade Sugarloaf Reservoir and Melbourne’s water distribution system.
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| 5. What route did the Sugarloaf Pipeline follow? |
The Sugarloaf Pipeline travels south from the Goulburn River near Yea, following the Melba Highway to Gulf Road, west to Steels Creek Road, on to Yarraview Road and into Sugarloaf Reservoir, west of Yarra Glen. The route includes private farmland, public land and the existing Melbourne Water pipe reserve.
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| 6. How long did it take to build the Sugarloaf Pipeline? |
Victorian Premier, John Brumby, officially opened the Sugarloaf Pipeline on Wednesday, 10 February 2010.
The Sugarloaf Pipeline Alliance was formed in September 2007 and, after an extensive planning and approval process, construction began in September 2008. |
| 7. How long is the Sugarloaf Pipeline? |
The Sugarloaf Pipeline is 70km long, travelling from the Goulburn River near Killingworth to the Sugarloaf Reservoir, north-east of Melbourne. About 5500 pipes were used to build the Sugarloaf Pipeline.
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| 8. Is the Sugarloaf Pipeline above or below ground? |
The Sugarloaf Pipeline is almost entirely underground. The exceptions to this are two pipe bridges (over the Yea River at Devlin Bridge and at Castella), tie-ins to major structures and for small above-ground structures such as air and scour valves.
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| 9. How deep is the Sugarloaf Pipeline under the ground? |
| As a rule, the Sugarloaf Pipeline is a minimum of 800mm below the ground's surface. At points where it crosses major roads or rivers it is a minimum of 1200mm deep. |
